Two Sermons Preached at Christ-Church in the City of Dublin before the Honourable the General CONVENTION of IRELAND The first on Prov. 11. 14. At the first meeting of the said Convention March 2. 1659. The second on Jude v. 19. At a publique Fast appointed by the said Convention March 9. 1659. By Sem Coxe Minister of the Gospel and Pastor at St. Katherines in Dublin DVBLIN Printed by VVILLIAM BLADEN Anno Domini 1660. TO THE HONOURABLE The General CONVENTION of Ireland Worthy Patriots YOur desire which I interpret in the nature of a command hath caused me contrary to mine own disposition and inclination to appear in publique I can behold nothing in these my poor Labours that may deserve your acceptance onely this I can say That I have endeavoured in these two Sermons to discharge a good conscience to God to his Church and to You in particular in which I do and shall find comfort It is no small mercy That plain preaching of seasonable Truths which was formerly stifled by Sectarian spirits is now revived and countenanced through your Patronage this will stand upon your account for good at the great day of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ I am not ignorant of the rash censures of unstable spirits that have passed upon me for preaching these Sermons because I have medled with their Diana and I expect much more unfriendly dealing now they appear to publique view but I shall say with the Poet Hic murus aheneus esto Nil conscire sibi c. I can speak it in sincerity That I have not intended to bespatter any mans person but to set out the loathsomness which is in the Tenets of those men that have studied under the specious pretence of piety and Christian Liberty to enslave these three nations of England Ireland and Scotland yea and which is worse to unchurch them It is now above thirty years since my reverend and learned Tutor Mr. Arthur Hildersam whose name and praise is yet fresh in the Church of God being in his life time accepted of all the godly though differing in judgment as Fuller witnesseth in his History of Britain Cent. 17. Book 11. did frequently advise me and others to beware of separation from the Church of England which errour began then to be busie in the land assuring me That Separation was likely to be the bane both of Church and State How prophetick his words were the wofull experience of diverse years by past hath sufficiently informed us And therefore whilst he suffered much trouble and restraint under the exorbitances of Prelacy he acted both by preaching and writing against this bitter weed of Separation insomuch as the learned Dr. VVillet in his Epistle dedicatory to Christs College before his harmony upon the first of Samuel stileth him Schismaticorum qui vulgò Brownistae malleum What difference there is between the Brownists formerly and our Separatists now I yet descern not both of them in words and deeds denying to hold communion with our Church save onely that these later have put a fairer dress upon this Monster that it may appear more amiable Being warned by this divine Oracle most consonant to Scripture I have endeavoured ever since the Lord counted me faithful putting me into the Ministry to bear my weak testimony against this general errour of the time both because it is the fruitful mother of manifold Heresies depriving the Church of all means to suppress them and also because from this Church-separation hath proceeded State-separation even to the depriving us of all our birth-privileges as subjects if Gods mercy had not seasonably interposed Now God almighty direct you in those great affairs that are before you and help you in the strength of his holy Spirit to contend earnestly for the faith once committed to the Saints both against schism and heresy on the one hand and also against all prophaness and ungodliness on the other hand That ye may be called the repairers of the breach made in the Church of God the restorers of paths to dwell in that so at the last the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ may be advanced in the power and purity of his Ordinances among us and Ireland may be indeed Insula Sanctorum So still shall pray Yours and the Churches Servant in the work of the Gospel SEM COXE From my study in St. Thomas-street in Dublin March 1659. March the 3. 1659. By the General Convention of Ireland ORdered That Sir Paul Davys Sir Theophilus Jones and Doctor Dudley Loftus be and are appointed a Committee to return the thanks of the Convention to Mr. Coxe for the Sermon preached by him before the Convention yesterday and to desire Mr. Coxe to cause his Sermon to be printed And it is also Ordered That Mr. Coxe be desired by the said Committee to attend the Convention every morning to pray with them before the Sitting Signed by Order Ma. Barry Clerk of the General Convention of Ireland The First Sermon Proverbs 11. 14. Where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of Counsellors there is safety THe Proverbs of Solomon the son of David King of Israel are usually methodized under three heads viz. His Ethicks his Politicks and his Oeconomicks His Politicks contain the Doctrine of the Government of Kingdoms or Commonwealths Wherein Solomon treateth of four sorts of Persons that compleat such a Government and make it happy viz. 1 A King or supreme Governor 2 Counsellors of State 3 Nobles Favorites or Courtiers 4 Subjects Where such a Government is the people flourish otherwise they cannot be happy Our Text and our present Occasion lead us to speak concerning Counsellors and their counsels of persons that are called to consult de arduis Reipublicae upon which account ye Noble Senators are convened this day Concerning Counsellors Solomon acquainteth us 1. With the Necessity of them 2. With their Qualifications The first our Text speaketh of wherein the second will also be included So we shall come to the words themselves Where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of Counsellors there is safety That this divine Sentence may have the deeper impression upon our hearts let us seriously consider who hath delivered it This shall be laid down in two particulars 1. Solomon who wrote this golden sentence was the wisest man in the world The Holy Ghost informeth us 1 King 4. 30 31. That his wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East country that is of the Arabians or Chaldeans and all the wisdom of Egypt which was very great as appeareth by that commendation given to Moses Acts 7. 22. that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians that he was wiser than all men than Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman and Chalcol and Darda the sons of Mahol None that write of civil politie are to be compared with him Now upon this very account his judgment is to be diligently harkened unto A
unto you as we go on in our discourse Now this Separation commanded and by all the godly to be endeavored I shall lay down particularly and distinctly in seven things I The Ministers of Jesus Christ must in their preaching make a separation or put a difference between the precious and the vile between the godly and the ungodly by confirming and comforting the one and by reproving and threatning the other In the purest Churches there is chaff aswell as wheat dross aswell as gold and that man that undertaketh the calling of the Ministry and yet hath not learned to make this distinction can hardly be judged a Teacher sent from God This this I say is that taking forth or separating the precious from the vile which the Lord giveth in commandment to the Prophet Jeremiah in that place before quoted Chap. 15. 19. And they that ground their gathering of Churches out of Churches upon this scripture as many do do squeez bloud out of the Text instead of sincere milk as will appear by these three considerations 1 From the words conjoyned in the Text which are these Thus saith the Lord if thou return then will I bring thee again and thou shalt stand before me and if thou take the precious from the vile thou shalt be as my mouth let them return unto thee but return not thou unto them These words are spoken unto Jeremiah who was one of the Lords prophets employed in delivering his message to the Church of the Jews especially the native sense and meaning of this enunciation of the Lord to him is thus much If thou cast off all thy distrustfulness impatiencie and grudging against me whereunto thou art inclinable and turnest unto me relying upon me by faith and walking in a constant course of obedience then I will strengthen thee as in times past and give thee grace to attend upon my service freely without any fear or distractedness And if thou dost faithfully and constantly without fear of man or flattery of any declare what the true good is which I approve of and the evil which I dislike if thou countenancest that that is good and dost bear up and comfort good men and contrariwise condemnest that which is evil and keepest down wicked men then thou shalt shew by these effects that thou art my true prophet that thou speakest in thy Ministry as the Oracle of God So as its clear that this taking forth of the precious from the vile was an act appertaining to his ministerial Office in dividing the Word of God aright to the comfort of the godly and terrour of the ungodly and not in gathering a particular Church out of the national Church of the Jews and unchurching the rest of the people 2 We find it no where recorded in the holy Scriptures that the Prophet Jeremiah did any such thing as to take any out of the Church of the Jews and joyn them into a separate Church or society among themselves And certainly if it had been the Lords intention that in that great defection and backsliding of the Church of the Jews the Prophet should have gathered a select number out of them into a particular Church fellowship amongst themselves there would have been some footsteps of his actings in that kind especially considering that it was so new rare and strange a work 3 If the Prophet had attempted to have done such a thing he had without doubt sinned therein and so had not been as Gods mouth but must have been numbred among the false Prophets For he had therein transgressed by digressing from the practise of the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was born in as corrupt a time of the Church as Jeremiah lived in and yet he made no rent nor separation among them but held communion with them in all the Ordinances and Institutions of the Lord kept the holy Sabbath with them in their Synagogues observed the Passover with them waited at Jerusalem during the time of their solemn Feasts doing all things in Church fellowship wirh them as is abundantly manifest in the Histories of the Evangelists So that you see that this word of the Lord to Jeremiah intended not any such separation as some would infer from it but onely the putting of a distinction in his preaching between the godly and the ungodly But this taking forth the precious from the vile putting a destinction between the holy and the wicked in preaching comfortable doctrine to the children of God and terrour to the children of the devil is a duty belonging to every faithful Minister of Christ and if Gods messengers do not observe this distinction they give that which is holy to dogs and cast their pearls before swine which is a thing utterly forbidden them to do Mat. 7. 6. II All the people of God must separate from communion with Idolaters in the worship and service of God This is a duty frequently enjoyned in the word of God And this separation must be twofold 1 From that worship that heathens give to their false Gods unto idols which is forbidden in the first Commandment This is that which is especially intended in the 52. of Isaiah Verse 11. before cited where the Lord enjoyneth his people to depart and go out from Babilon and to touch no unclean thing that they did or offered in the service of their idols We must separate from all idolaters in their idolatrous worship for it is written Mat. 4. 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve All divine honour both that that is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worship and that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 service belongeth unto the Lord our God onely and therefore we may not meddle with idolaters not with their idols 2 From the false and idolatrous worship of the true God such as the Papists perform to God by their images and ceremonies Of this kind of Separation it is that the Lord speaketh Revel 18. 4. before mentioned Come out of her my people that is Separate from the Papal jurisdiction which is the spiritual Babilon under which the people of God have been in as great spiritual captivity and slavery as ever the Church of the Jews were under in Caldea or all Israel in Egypt And there are two reasons rendered there why we must thus separate 1 Because unless we separate from the idolatrous worship of the Papists we shall certainly be partakers of the sins which they commit in that worship That ye be not partakers of her sins It is a vanity for a man to think that he can be present at a Mass or other worship that they do and yet keep his heart to God and not sin therein presence at idol-worship voluntarily maketh a man to be partaker in the sin of it 2 Because If we do not thus come out all those intollerable miseries that shall come inevitably upon these idolaters shall light upon us likewise and that ye receive not of her
Separatists among us in this Common wealth or no But this is so obvious that it is written with a Sun beam Have not we multitudes among us that have departed from our solemn Assemblies and cast off the publique Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ especially the sealing Ordinances upon a meer pretence of non-communion with the ungodly Nay have we not very many both Ministers and others that have cast off our Churches and en bodied themselves into other societies None can deny this he is blind that seeth it not Now let us yet enquire further What is the reason why they have so done They must either acknowledg our Congregations to be true Churches of Jesus Christ or else they must say that we are false Churches Non datur tertium If they acknowledg us to be true Churches as some of them do then why do they separate from us They cannot be excused from the guilt of Schism at the least And do they not put themselves out of Christs protection by their separation Yea verily and they will feel it to be so at the last If they endeavour to excuse the matter thus That though we be true Churches yet we are not pure Churches and they desire to gather into a more pure Church way and therefore are not to be accused for unlawfull Separation I must answer in four words 1 That they have no precept or example in the whole Book of God for going out of a true Church upon pretence of greater purity to be found in another and whatsoever is not of faith is sin Rom. 14. 23. 2 That we have the example of Christ to the contrary who would not separate from the Church of the Jews though corrupted and gather another from among them of a more pure constitution whilst they were to remain a Church and they ought to be followers of God aâ— dear children Eph. 5. 1. 3 That this separation though under the pretence of greater purity to be found else where is a dangerous sign that they were never true members of the church I would not judge them but let us hear what the Holy Ghost saith by the Apostle 1 Joh. 2. 19. They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us 4 This departure of theirs is an occasion of very grievous discommodity and disadvantage to the church of God in general which they ought warily to have declined insomuch as the blessed work of reformation is retarded by their means and our Saviour saith Mat. 18. 7. We to that man by whom the offence cometh If on the other side they shall say we are not true churches of Christ and that therefore they leave us then behold we have blessed be God all the marks and signes of a true church We acknowledge the true and incorruptible doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles and receive it as the onely rule for faith and manners We have a continuation of the right and lawful use of the Word and Sacraments among us and which is the thing that themselves make the most essential note of a church truely instituted We have the sound and sincere profession of the true faith among us So as they can have no cause to judg otherwise then that we are the true church of God What then is the cause that should make them to separate from us Surely the fault lieth not in us because we are not the church of God but there is something in themselves that is amiss it will fall under one of these three causes I will not determine which of them 1 Either They are proud and high minded men that set more price and esteem upon their own abilities parts and graces then upon their brethrens This is indeed the seed of Separation when a man is puffed up with pride of spirit This was the fault of those that â—omâ—nted division in the church of Corinth they had an high conceit of themselves and commended themselves and then own abilities as the Apostle intimateth 2 Cor. 10. 18. but they had â—ase thoughts and uttered unsit speeches against Paul Verse 10. His bodily presence say they is weak and his speech contemptible he had no good elocution But this is far off from that which Christ requireth to be in his disciples the first lesson to be learned in his school is self deniall Mat. 16. 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself A low esteem of self would keep a man safe from being a Separatist but when pride thus pricketh a man forward and that he valueth his own wisdom and learning at a higher rate then the wisdom prudence and holiness of a whole national Assembly of Orthodox Divines it is no wonder though he run upon this dangerous rock of separation 2 Or else Self ends and base carnal respects draw men into this gulf they aim at their own advantage and self interest to make themselves great and rich in the world The Apostle speaketh fully to this 2 Pet. 2. 1-3 where he informeth us that false teachers through covetousness do with fained words make merchandise of professors Such kind of trading as is there spoken of is base among men and abominable in the sight of God Hope of great gifts and large rewards maketh many a man to turn Separatist Or if they aim not at an outward estate yet at least a great name fame and honor among men doth entice them to this vanity This was it that tickled the new fangled preachers at Ephesus Acts 20. 30. They shall speak perverse things to draw away disciples after them they thought they should have a great company of followers if they set up new fashions in doctrine and discipline And have not some of the Separatists enlarged their precincts beyond the bounds of a Lord Bishops diocess they are likely to watch well one over another living at such a distance These are they saith our Saviour that seek honour one of another and seek not the honour that cometh of God onely Joh. 5. 44. 3 Or else they warp to separation through their own injudiciousness being unsetled in the knowledg of the truth It is for want of sound catechising in the fundamentals of religion that so many have of late been troubled with this vertigo â—â— they have got more use of their tongues than Christians had formerly but they have less in their hearts than the old Christians had If men were well instructed in religion they would not be so easily seduced to separation The cause why men are deceived by such delusions is because they have not received the love of the truth into their souls 2 Thes 2. 10 11. They cannot by found judgment discern between truth and error when a false teacher cometh in appearance as if he were an angel of light this want of judgment perverteth
thousands Use 2. Hence there ariseth just ground of humiliation before the Lord this day in that this error of separation from the Church of Christ is so overspred these dominions and over this island particularly I told you in the begining of my discourse that this is the Achan the Pest of our lands and that I would clear that unto you which I shall now do but with much brevity that so our hearts may be the more deeply humbled in the presence of God The abomination of this sin of separating from the Church and Ordinances of Christ will appear in these four particulars 1 Separation is the most fruitfull sin of many others it is a very comprehensive evil the womb out of which issues many prodigious monsters If I should begin to shew its rise and growth it may be it would prove offensive to some here present and it would be beside my purpose Observe therefore onely its of spring hence arise many of the heresies and abominations that are how among us we are pestered with Anabaptists Seekers Quakers and the like sorts of vipers but they all began in Separation Men first run out of the Church and then they may be of any religion they please Our late experience doth abundantly confirm this And how indeed should it be otherwise when men forsake the true Church what hindreth but they may erect any Church that they shall devise The fruitfulness of it maketh it the fouler sin 2 Separation is a sin that many of Gods own people as we do conceive in the judgment of charity are smutted and tainted with And the sins of Gods children are aggravated by many more circumstances than the sins of other men are Israel hath sinned was that which God affirmeth to Joshua as a great ground of humiliation Chap. 7. 11. The children of God sin against greater outward light and means of grace than others do they sin against the inward light of the spirit of God they sin against greater mercies than others do they sin against covenants vows and strong resolutions This makes their sin of separation much the greater and more to be lamented in the presence of God it is the sin his own people 3 Separation is a greater sin by far than otherwise it would be in this respect because it is maintained countenanced and preached up as if it were no sin at all but a duty This kind withdrawing from Church and Ordinances is held forth as a great gospel truth by many Satans temptation was the more dangerous and the womans transgression the greater when the forbidden fruit was eaten of under the shew and appearance of good Gen. 3. 5 6. It is a great sin to call that good that is evil in it self God cannot abide it when men are so stupid as to call darkness light This also calleth for mourning 4 Separation is that leaven which leaveneth the whole lump it is that canker or gangren that will if God prevent it not eat out the heart of all goodness as the Apostle speaketh of the doctrine of Hymeneus and Philetus 2 Tim. 2. 17. It is indeed a dangerous sign of a carnal man though he may be cloathed in a religious habit The Apostle propoundeth this question to those that studied to make a rent at Corinth and to those that were led by them 1 Cor. 3. 3 4. Are ye not carnal As if he had said I much suspect your grace and doubt that you are persons carnal sensual having not the spirit because ye run thus into separations and divisions in the Church We have now done with the second use Use 3. If separation be such an old dangerous spreading and contaminating evil then here is exhortation in two branches I. If this be so great an evil then I beg that you flie separation and also those that would entice you to it take heed of being drawn from that Church in which you have been born and brought up for God Meddle you not with them that are given to change their Church It becometh us all to be of Davids mind who professeth Psal 119. 113. I hate vain thoughts It is in the original more emphatical ramos or summitates arborum I hate to be like the upper branches of a tree that are bowed and shaken with every wind to be a weather-cock in religion without ballast changing and turning with every turn of the times O this is an hateful thing indeed Now if you would be preserved from this evil that you may not be seduced into separation I shal prescribe unto you five helps which are all laid down by the Apostle Jude in the two verses that do succeed our Text viz. Verse 20. 21. But ye beloved building up your selves on your most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost keep your selves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life 1 He that would be kept from separation must lay a good foundation of faith in his heart This is cleerly hinted in these words Building up your selves in your most holy faith there must first be a foundation laid before we can rear a building Faith is this foundation to build upon building on your faith Faith in Christ Jesus will keep a man from seduction Vpon this rock saith our Savour Mat. 16 18. viz. upon my self whom thou hast now confessed I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it neither Satan nor seducers shall be able to lead him from the church who hath true faith fixed upon Christ faith will conquer 2 When you have digged deep and are come to the foundation you must build upon it unto perfection Building up your selves on your most holy faith He that would stand against wind and weather and not be shaken and rent from the church must be sure to build upon the foundation and upon that onely If a man build partly upon the foundation and partly beside it his building will settle and fall or if a man leave earth and rubish between the foundation and the building the fabrick will come to naught The cause why the house stood when the rain descended and the flouds came and the windes blew and beat upon it was because it was founded upon a rock Mat. 7. 24. 25. On the otherside The cause why the other house stood not but fell when the rain descended and the flouds came and the winds blew and beat upon it was because it was built upon the sand and not upon the foundation Verse 26. 27. The more that a man laboureth for perfection of faith to be made compleat in Christ the more shall he be kept from being a Separatist 3 You must pray fervently for your perfeverance in church-state and fellowship Praying in the holy Ghost that is in the strength of the spirit of God by his motion and inspiration and not with the mouth onely as hypocrites use to do it is not lip labour that